Impacts of agricultural land use changes on pesticide use in French agriculture

Public policies seeking to regulate pesticide use must be based on a clear identification of the factors influencing such use. Since the agricultural use of pesticides is primarily crop-dependent, agricultural land use change is potentially an important driver of the overall level of pesticide use in a given country. In this paper, we investigate the influence of agricultural land use changes on pesticide use in French agriculture over the period 1989–2013, during which important changes in the Common Agricultural Policy took place. Toward that end, we developed a method allowing the direct effects of agricultural land use changes to be disentangled from other factors affecting the intensity of pesticide use. On the basis of standard protection programs defined by crop protection experts, a fixed pesticide use intensity is estimated for 19 annual and perennial crops representing 90% of French arable land area and the bulk of pesticide use in French agriculture. These coefficients, combined with national agricultural land use statistics, are used to construct an artificial index of pesticide use in France whose variations depend solely on changes in agricultural land use. This index is calculated over the period 1989–2013. Our results indicate that the direct impacts of agricultural land use changes on pesticide use in France have varied depending on the time period considered, reflecting the influence of public regulations, notably the compulsory set-aside policy in force during the 1990s, and market conditions, particularly the context of high prices for cereal grains at the end of the 2000s. Over the six years from 2008 to 2013, this index is roughly constant, indicating that the 17% increase in French pesticide use in 2013 compared to 2008 (as assessed from annual pesticide sales) cannot be even partially attributed to agricultural land use changes. Since 2000, land use changes mainly corresponded to substitutions between crops with similar per-hectare pesticide use intensities, and/or to substitutions with counterbalancing impacts on these intensities. A prospective approach shows that other types of land use changes (e.g. a massive conversion of grassland to arable land or, conversely, a strong diversification of arable crop rotations), could have much higher impacts on pesticide use, with the effect of either offsetting or reinforcing efforts to reduce pesticide use intensity in arable crops. Thus, better coordination is needed between public policies aimed at regulating pesticide use and public policies influencing land use.     

Analyzing a forest conversion history database to explore the spatial and temporal characteristics of land cover change in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve

We analyzed forest clearing and regrowth over a 23-year time period for 21 forest concession and management units within the Maya Biosphere Reserve(MBR), Guatemala. The study area as a whole experienced a clearing rate of0.16%/year from 1974 through 1997. The overall clearing rate appears rather low when averaged over the entire study area over 23 years because most of the reserve was inaccessible. However, despite the granting of legal protection to the MBR in 1990, clearing rates continued to rise, with the highest rates occurring in the most recent time period in the analysis, 1995 to1997. Higher rates of clearing relative to regrowth occurred in newly established communities and in the Reserve's buffer zone, where the clearing of high forest was preferred for pasture development. Exploratory models were built and analyzed to examine the effects of various landscape variables on forest clearing. The different units in the analysis showed different relationships of forest clearing with variables such as forest cover type and distance to access(roads and river corridors). Where available, socio-economic household survey data helped to explain patterns and trends observed in the time series Landsat imagery. A strong relationship between forest clearing and distance to access was demonstrated. More clearing occurred further from roads during later time periods as farmers moved deeper into the forest to find land to clear. Communities inside the MBR that were less dependent on farming had forest clearing to regrowth ratios of one:one or less. These communities used fallow fields in greater proportions than communities in the Reserve's buffer zone. General trends in clearing by forest cover type suggest a preference for clearing high forest (bosque alto) types found on the higher elevation, better-drained soils, and fallow fields,and an avoidance of low-lying, seasonally flooded terrain(bajos). Satellite remote sensing observations of forest clearing and regrowth patterns can provide an objective source of information to complement socio-economic studies of the human driving forces in land cover and land use change. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

农业水资源可持续利用评价指标体系构建及其应用

指标体系（Indicators System,IS）评价法已在各研究领域得以广泛应用,但存在IS的通用性与区域适用性、全面性与可操作性难于兼顾等问题.以东北三省2001年农业水资源可持续利用（Sustainable Utilization of Agricultural Water Resources,SUAWR）评价为例,依据研究区水资源利用状况分析选取指标保证了指标的区域适用性;采用频度统计法、专家咨询法、谱系聚类法之分裂法、理论分析法等多种方法相结合构建IS,充分借鉴、吸收了已有指标研究成果、IS构建思想及同行专家意见,保证了所选指标的通用性.体现动静结合的运行层和框架层耦合的IS结构则解决了农业水资源系统可持续内涵评价的科学性和全面性与IS的可操作性难于兼顾的矛盾.评价结果表明,按本研究构建的IS适合东北区SUAWR现状评价.     

可持续农业评价研究进展

简析了国内外可持续农业评价指标体系和方法的研究现状以及存在问题,并指出未来可持续农业评价研究应强化与完善可持续农业的动态监测和尺度效应研究、评价主体多元化以及评价模型研究等方面     

不同紫花苜蓿品种的TWINSPAN分类与筛选

应用“康乃尔生态学”程序(Cornell ecological program,CEP)中的二歧指示种分析TWINSPAN(Two-WayIndicators Species Analysis)数量分析方法,以不同紫花苜蓿品种的生理生态特性值和牧草产量值为指标对16个紫花苜蓿品种进行分类。结果表明:用TWINSPAN可将16个品种划分为7类,并且根据试验站所在地区的干旱半干旱的气候特征,筛选出高产、高水分利用效率、高光能利用效率的3个优良品种,分别为肇东苜蓿、德宝苜蓿和草原2号苜蓿。     

济南市创建国家生态园林城市有关绿化指标的分析

本文结合济南城市园林绿化工作的实际,对照国家生态园林城市暂定的19项指标,对相关园林绿化的7项指标进行了分门别类的分析。对尚未达标的6项指标按实施难易程度进行研究,提出了发展复层群落种植模式、增加绿地面积和绿化建设投入等措施以确保相关绿化指标的实现。     

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy: A tool to characterize the composition of different types of exogenous organic matter and their behaviour in soil

In addition to total organic carbon and nitrogen, potential organic carbon mineralization under controlled laboratory conditions and indicators such as the indicator of remaining organic carbon in soil (I_ROC), based on Van Soest biochemical fractionation and short-term carbon mineralization in soil, are used to predict the evolution of exogenous organic matter (EOM) after its application to soils. The purpose of this study was to develop near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) calibration models that could predict these characteristics in a large dataset including 300 EOMs representative of the broad range of such materials applied to cultivated soils (plant materials, animal manures, composts, sludges, etc.). The NIRS predictions of total organic matter and total organic carbon were satisfactory (R²_P = 0.80 and 0.85, ratio of performance to deviation, RPD_P = 2.2 and 2.6, respectively), and prediction of the Van Soest soluble, cellulose and holocellulose fractions were acceptable (R²_P = 0.82, 0.73 and 0.70, RPD_P = 2.3, 1.9 and 1.8, respectively) with coefficients of variation close to those of the reference methods. The NIRS prediction of carbon mineralization during incubation was satisfactory and indeed better regarding the short-term results of mineralization (R²_P = 0.78 and 0.78, and RPD_P = 2.1 and 2.0 for 3 and 7 days of incubation, respectively). The I_ROC indicator was predicted with fairly good accuracy (R²_P = 0.79, RPD_P = 2.2). Variables related to the long-term C mineralization of EOM in soil were not predicted accurately, except for I_ROC which was based on analytical and well-identified characteristics, probably because of the increasing interactions and complexity of the factors governing EOM mineralization in soil as a function of incubation time. This study demonstrated the possibility of developing NIRS predictive models for EOM characteristics in heterogeneous datasets of EOMs. However, specific NIRS predictive models still remain necessary for sludges, organo-mineral fertilizers and liquid manures.     

中低产田评价指标与主要方法研究进展

我国中低产田分布广泛,产能提升潜力巨大,提高中低产田产能对于保障粮食安全、实现联合国可持续发展目标具有重要的意义。明确中低产田的质量等级、面积与空间分布,开展中低产田评价相关研究是中低产田改造的前提和基础。本文系统梳理了中低产田的概念 、评价指标和主要评价方法,分析了中低产田概念的演变过程,在此基础上探讨了我国中低产田评价的主要不足和发展趋势。现有的中低产田概念以中低产田数量和质量评价为主、对生态功能和可持续发展能力的研究仍较少,指标体系与评价方法尚不统一,中低产田高分辨率、长时序的时空动态变化情况尚不清楚。未来中低产田评价相关研究可围绕“数量、质量和生态”三个方面,开展多尺度中低产田评价指标体系构建、多源数据融合、创新中低产田评价方法、中低产田时空变化分析等相关研究,实现不同尺度上的中低产田动态变化分析,探索绿色高产高效的耕地产能提升路径,保障粮食安全、促进可持续发展目标的实现。     

Assessment of joint soil ecosystem services supply in urban green spaces: A case study in Northern Italy

The multiple functions of urban soils secure the supply of ecosystem services to the urban population, but they are seldom taken into account in current urban planning. The purpose of this study is to highlight the multifunctionality of the soils of urban green spaces and to assess the influence of different types of urban green (i.e. parks and gardens, roadside green and agricultural fields) on the joint supply of soil-based ecosystem services. In a case study area in the city of Carpi (NE Italy), we focused on a set of soil functions underpinning ecosystem services and on possible synergies and trade-offs between them. We surveyed and sampled 19 urban green areas to assess the following soil functions: biological fertility, potential habitat for organisms, water regulation and storage, soil buffering capacity and carbon stock. Results showed differences and trends in the bundles of ecosystem services provided by the soils of urban green areas, highlighting the relevance of soil disturbance and vegetation cover density in affecting soil functions. For biological indicators, results showed a negative significant correlation to CaCO₃ content, which is associated with the degree of soil disturbance, and that soils in urban areas do not always have compromised soil fauna and may provide the same level of biological quality as agricultural soils or forests.     

The responses of leaf litter invertebrates to environmental gradients along road edges in subtropical island forests

Knowledge of how roads affect forest biodiversity can be improved by measuring the responses of indicator species to complex environmental gradients caused by these infrastructures. We studied litter invertebrate species responses to road edges in laurel and pine forests in Tenerife, Canary Islands. We sampled invertebrates from litter and assessed the environmental variation related to road proximity. We also assessed the effect of relevant environmental predictors on a diverse array of potential indicator species. We applied canonical ordination and non-parametric regression (Lowess) to classify invertebrate species responses to roads and their associated gradients. Three types of responses to road edge proximity were defined for the most common invertebrate taxa: edge-preferring or edge specialists, interior-preferring or edge-avoiders, and edge-indifferent or neutral species. Those species appearing most frequently and with higher population density between 1 and 20 m from the edge (commonly peaking at 10 m from the road) were categorized as edge-preferring. We classified taxa attaining peak population densities at or beyond 60 m from the edge (and most commonly 100 m) as interior species. Edge-neutral species were those without an evident pattern of stabilization in abundance along the gradient and with peaks in abundance at varying distance intervals. These edge litter communities contain a high native and endemic diversity but also a significant density of alien fauna. The specific patterns of penetration of road edge effects on invertebrate species should be seen as having a pervasive and cumulative impact considering the exceptionally large number of roads in these forests and the high population densities of alien invertebrates. Future management plans for forest conservation on the Canary Islands should include the highly altered but valuable litter communities along road edges.